HMS Duke of York was one of Britain's five 14 in King George V class battleships, designed in the to 35000 ton Washington Treaty tonnage limits.

Pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee (left) with battleship Gneisenau, 1938. Both were 11 in ships: it was originally envisaged that Gneisenau and her sister Scharnhorst would receive 6 x 15 in guns, but the design was not ready in time, so they received 9 x 11 in instead (an excellent design). The pocket battleships had only 6. Note also Gneisenau’s significantly thicker armoured belt.

Operation Cerberus-battleship Scharnhorst & heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen

German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II : From Scharnhorst to Tirpitz, 1942-1944 (Reprint)

Crewmen of the stricken HMS Rawalpindi occupy one of only three serviceable lifeboats and attempt to rescue fellow sailors as their ship is pounded relentlessly by the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

Operation Cerberus-battleship Scharnhorst & heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen

German 11 inch battleship Scharnhorst: she saw much action in the war, finally being sunk at the Battle of North Cape on 26 December 1943 by a British task force led by the battleship HMS Duke of York. Only 36 of her crew survived.